Modeling occupant behavior of the manual control of windows in residential buildings

Indoor Air. 2019 Mar;29(2):242-251. doi: 10.1111/ina.12522. Epub 2018 Dec 11.

Abstract

Window opening and closing is the most preferred behavior for occupants to control their indoor environment in homes. This study aims to identify driving forces for window opening and closing behavior in the home. The additional field survey was carried out for the cooling period after following the previous study. The state of windows and environmental variables for outdoor and indoor were continuously monitored in 23 sample homes over one year. The monitored data provide evidence that there is a statistically significant relationship between window opening behavior and outdoor temperature. The behavior of the occupant's manual control of windows can be described by seasonal effects, occupancy, and time of day. Indoor stimuli, such as such as temperature, humidity, and CO2 , can better account for the window opening behavior than can outdoor stimuli. There are clear differences in driving variables between window opening and closing behavior. The closing behavior is better described when the outdoor and indoor variables are combined. Finally, multivariate logistic regression models were developed to predict typical patterns of window opening and closing as a function of indoor and outdoor variables.

Keywords: building simulation; indoor air quality; natural ventilation; occupant behavior; thermal comfort; window control.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollution, Indoor
  • Behavior*
  • Housing*
  • Humans
  • Humidity
  • Logistic Models
  • Republic of Korea
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Temperature*
  • Ventilation*